Job summary
- Main area
- Specimen Reception
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 2
- Contract
- Permanent: Post is 37.5 hours
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Shift working to include earlies, evenings, weekends and bank holidays)
- Job ref
- 193-7433847NCG
- Employer
- Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Royal Berkshire NHS FT
- Town
- Reading
- Salary
- £24,465 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 21/09/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Medical Laboratory Assistant-Specimen Reception
NHS AfC: Band 2
At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust we put our patients at the heart of every element of health and care that we provide. The Trust works together as a community to deliver its vision which is “Working together to provide outstanding care for our community.”
Royal Berkshire Hospital are pleased to announce that following our CQC inspection we have been rated ‘Good’ with inspectors reporting that we have made significant improvements. The Trust’s overall rating has also improved to ‘good’.
We are Compassionate in our thoughts, words and actions
We are Aspirational and have a true desire to be dynamic and to innovate
We are Resourceful and responsible in the way we work and live
We are Excellent in our development, fairness and sharing best practice
At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, we value candidates who bring their unique personalities, skills, and experiences to the Trust. When completing your application, we encourage you to highlight your individual achievements and strengths, showing us how they align with the requirements outlined in the job description and person specification. While we recognise that some applicants may use AI tools during the process, please be mindful that AI-generated responses can often lack the personal detail and relevance needed to demonstrate your suitability for the role. AI generated content is discouraged by the Trust and may diminish the candidates chances of success.
Amazing things happen at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust; delivered by amazing people so why don’t you come and join us. We offer a range of learning and development for all employees may you be clinical or non-clinical.
Job overview
Band 2 - Medical Laboratory Asst-Specimen Reception
The purpose of this job is to assist in the preparation of analytical work for Blood Sciences Department across a range of scientific disciplines under the supervision of the specimen reception manager and registered biomedical scientists. You are required to communicate with pathology staff, hospital staff, porters, drivers and couriers.
Main duties of the job
To assist in the departmental work as instructed, following SOPs under the supervision of the laboratory managers, team leaders and / or
Biomedical Scientist staff.
Receipt of a wide range of clinical samples into the department from hospital staff, clinic staff and transport services.
Assesses samples for urgency and sorts by discipline.
Ensures sample detail matches request form detail and assigns unique laboratory number to sample and form, requiring complete accuracy and attention to details.
Working for our organisation
Reading sits on the river Thames and is served by great road and rail links to London, Oxford and Southampton. With excellent leisure and shopping facilities, and a thriving cultural scene, Reading is a wonderful place to live, work and play and provides excellent facilities for families, including some of the best state and private schools in the UK.
The CQC recently rated the care provided by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust as Good.
Our values: Compassionate, Aspirational, Resourceful, Excellent, reflect the type of Trust we aspire to be and you can join our dedicated and talented staff to make this happen.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For further details on the job role, please refer to the job description and person specification attached.
Person specification
Qualifications and exprience
Essential criteria
- Completed A level with good grades
Desirable criteria
- Minimum one year experience working in Laboratory Specimen reception
Skills
Essential criteria
- Experience using laboratory IT systems
Desirable criteria
- Experience working different shift patterns
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Manuela Prudenzano
- Job title
- Specimen Reception Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0118 322 7708
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